Abstract: We describe a general framework for large-scale computational experiments in
mathematics using computer resources that are available in most mathematics
departments. This framework was developed for an experiment that is helping to
formulate and test conjectures in the real Schubert calculus. Largely using
machines in instructional computer labs during off-hours and University breaks,
it consumed in excess of 350 GigaHertz-years of computing in its first six
months of operation, solving over 1.1 billion polynomial systems.